The SOMM Journal

December 2014/January 2015

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34 { THE SOMM JOURNAL } DECEMBER/JANUARY 2014/2015
{
appellations
}
IN OCTOBER, THE SANTA CRUZ
Mountains Winegrowers Association invited
18 professional wine judges (including myself)
to evaluate, in a double-blind tasting, 120
of their wines in a "Grand Pro Tasting."
According to Prudy Foxx of Foxx
Viticulture, who monitored one of the
panels, "Our winemakers and growers are
serious about getting outside input, for
good or bad. We're proud of our wines,
but we want to know how to get better."
Judging from the results: Santa Cruz
Mountains winegrowers may crave more
respect, but they're not standing by idly,
waiting for it. Their Pinot Noirs—grown as
close as five miles from the ocean, at 400-
to 2,600-foot elevations—are pinpoint,
perfumed and generally higher in acid
than comparable regions, from Willamette
Valley to Sta. Rita Hills.
Our panels did not "rate" the Santa
Cruz Mountains Chardonnays high in
terms of varietal typicity, but we did make
note of the pervasive minerality and acid-
driven moderation, distinguishing these
wines from those of other regions.
As a group, the Santa Cruz Mountains
Cabernet Sauvignons exhibited hillside
concentration, pungent earthiness and
occasional weediness, yet virtually none
of the overripe or excessively alcoholic
characteristics associated with most
California Cabernet Sauvignons.
If anything, what we found were wines
expressing strong "sense of place"—what
we all know as terroir. In a talk preceding
the judging, Foxx remarked: "Although I
believe wine comes from vineyards, our
feel for terroir might be different. It's com
-
plex here, but there's more to do with it
than just climate and soil. Over the years
I have found there are a lot of human ele-
ments that factor in."
In fact, heroic human elements have
always played a role in Santa Cruz
Mountains winegrowing, which dates
back to 1853, when a Scotsman named
John Burns planted vines in the present-
day sub-AVA of Ben Lamond Mountain.
A Frenchman named Paul Masson
carved out his historic "château" on a
Saratoga hillside in 1905; and in the 1940s
Martin Ray pioneered barrel fermented
Chardonnay on a neighboring mountain
-
top (where Mount Eden Vineyards still
stands), decades before it was done in
Sonoma or Napa.
Santa Cruz Mountains' Ridge Vineyards
(established in 1962) and David Bruce
(1964) were among the leaders in the mod
-
ern day California wine industry. Santa
Cruz Mountain Vineyard (1975) was one of
the first producers crazy enough to spe
-
cialize in Pinot Noir; and tiny Woodside
Vineyards (1961) still cultivates the state's
oldest Cabernet Sauvignon vines (La
Questa Vineyard, planted in 1884!).
While it may seem like this region has
seen its "glory" days, today's Santa Cruz
Mountains winegrowers can't help but
believe that their wines are still second
to none: something made abundantly
clear at the Santa Cruz Mountains Grand
Pro Tasting.
A "Different Feel" for Terroir
SCM Grand Pro judges at a reception at Windy Oaks
Estate (left to right): Randy Caparoso; Ellen Landis,
CS, CSW, wine journalist and co-owner, Landis Shores
Oceanfront Inn); Jerry Starr, CS, wine journalist; Megan
Metz, Executive Director, Santa Cruz Winegrowers
Association; Keiki McKay, Marketing Consultant, Santa
Cruz Winegrowers Association; Dave Donofrio, consulting
winemaker/microbiologist, and his wife Barbara Donofrio;
Brian and Maurgerite Nicholson, owners, Nicholson
Vineyards; Christina Glynn, Communications Director,
Santa Cruz County Conference & Visitors Council; Steve
Daniel (husband) and Lori Daniel, wine journalist; Jay
Trenchard, Wine Buyer, Whole Foods, Los Gatos; Judy and
Jim Schultze, owners, Windy Oaks Estate; Jill Robinson,
wine journalist and her husband Doug Robinson.
SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAINS WINES IMPRESS JUDGES
AT A GRAND PRO TASTING
story and photos by Randy Caparoso
Mountain vines at Windy Oaks Estate
Vineyards and Winery.